Learn To Accept Fate
by Charmedpppp
Summary: The Gathering was at Madrica that year. She was arranged to marry Prince Ryan. He was arranged to marry Princess Taylor. But then they meet. And everything will change. Please review.
1. Welcome

"**Learn To Accept Fate"**

**1. "Welcome"**

The rain fell heavily from the sky. Lightning struck and thunder roared. The silver carriage cast an eerie glow from the moonlight. Raindrops dripped quickly from the doors and roof as it swiftly made its way over the smooth ground. The driver stopped the horses from going at more then a trot, afraid of them sliding on the slippery road.

The carriages occupants were both deep in thought. But their thoughts were not the same. The one clothed in the simple green dress was thinking about what they were to have for dinner and if she would need to help make it or not. For she was only a lady-in-waiting. The one dressed in the more pretty blue gown with golden patterns imprinted upon it was thinking much differently. For she was the Princess of Arimar, and she was travelling to Madrica to meet the Prince she had been 'assigned' to marry. Every year, all the Princes and Princesses of age sixteen in the country were sent to a certain kingdom. Each year the kingdom to meet up was randomly chosen. This year it was the kingdom of Madrica. And every year the Kings would see what kingdoms they needed to make peace with and then get one of their daughters or sons to marry the daughter or son of that kingdom. The Royals stayed there for 6 months, while the wedding arrangements were made. That year Arimar needed to make peace with Madrica. So the eldest princess and prince were arranged to marry.

"Gabriella?" A voice snapped the princess out of her thoughts.

"Yes Sharpay?"

"What do you think it will be like? What do you think he'll be like?" Sharpay asked eagerly. It was nice to see she was excited. Even if Gabriella wasn't. Gabriella simply shrugged and settled back down. Seeing she didn't want to speak, Sharpay settled back down too, disappointed. But she knew the Princess would be thinking about it a lot.

And she was. She had never been more anxious in her life. She had no desire to marry this Prince. She had wanted to fall in love properly. Even though she knew this would be her fate from birth. Sighing deeply, Gabriella let herself fall into sleep. It would be a while until they got to the Palace of Madrica.

The carriage came to a halt. Gabriella woke up startled.

"Were here Your Highness." The driver opened the door and bowed low. Thanking him, Gabriella and Sharpay stepped out of the carriage. The walked quietly to some cover.

"This is where we are going to spend the next 6 months. Not to bad." Sharpay commented. The Palace was quite grand. It was very tall and made of black stone. To Gabriella it looked plain creepy. But she didn't dare say so. She knew that the Royals of Madrica weren't known for there kindness. That is why she couldn't believe she was being forced to marry the eldest son. Hopefully he would not be like his father. Though she highly doubted it.

The driver rode off and a servant came out of the front door to greet them. He led them inside. It wasn't as gothic as outside. Torches lighted up the foyer and paintings of past Kings and Queens stared down at the visitors. It made Gabriella shiver. The servant saw this and offered her a coat. She politely declined. The servant went away to announce their arrival.

"Sharpay!" A voice echoed off the walls. Gabriella and Sharpay spun around sharply to see a boy striding across the foyer hall with a grin plastered on his face.

"Chad," Sharpay greeted the stranger with a smile and a hug. She turned to Gabriella. Chad bowed.

"Greetings Your Highness."

"Sharpay, who is this?" Gabriella asked trying not to be rude.

"Oh sorry Gabby, this is a friend of my family. He's father is the Head Knight at Vanirind Palace."

"Any friend of yours Sharpay is a friend of mine. Please call me Gabriella." Gabriella smiled kindly at Chad.

"So who's Prince Troy getting married off to then?" Sharpay asked. It made Gabriella wince when Sharpay talked about the forced marriages.

"Princess Taylor of Syley. She seems nice. Her father is." Chad told them. "If you don't mind me asking Princess, who are you going to be marrying?"

"Not at all," Gabriella answered coolly, "But what did I say about calling me Princess?"

"Sorry Gabriella,"

"That's okay. I am going to be marrying Prince Ryan of Medrica." Gabriella had to force the words out. If Chad felt sorry for her or thought anything bad about the marriage arrangement, he did not show.

"I must get back, Taylor's lady-in-waiting, Kelsi, will want to go over some things with me. Please excuse me." Chad hurried off. The servant came back and motioned for them to follow him.

They stopped outside a large wooden door. Gabriella could tell it was Prince Ryan's study. Know she was about to meet him, she didn't know how she felt.

"Enter." A loud, sharp voice from inside called out. Gabriella gulped and Sharpay gave her an encouraging push. Almost stumbling, Gabriella entered Ryan's study. It was well furnished and well lit. Ryan sat at a desk in the middle of the room. He was quite handsome. He stood up at her entrance and smiled. It didn't give Gabriella any comfort over marrying him.

"Welcome Gabriella. May I call you Gabby?"

All Gabriella could do was nod. She was too afraid to speak. He seemed polite enough and didn't seem to be the tyrant that his father was made out to be. But first impressions were not always the right ones.

"I am very excited about this peace exchange between our two families." He said. He did sound excited. But Gabriella was very wary of the fact he had called their marriage a "peace exchange". It showed he cared little for her. Or that's what she thought. He was probably like his father, Gabriella concluded, he was more excited about getting to rule another land then the marriage to the Princess. All wealth and greed; Gabriella had a feeling it wasn't going to be nice living in this castle.

"Your Highness, the guests are ready for you entry." Another voice came in through the door. It was the same servant who had showed Gabriella to Ryan. The servant poked his head into the room.

"Ah good. Gabby, this is my most loyal servant, Zeke." Ryan introduced Zeke and Gabriella wished she hadn't allowed Ryan to call her that, "If the guests are ready then let the banquet begin!"


	2. The First Banquet

"**Learn To Accept Fate"**

**2. The First Banquet**

"Introducing Prince Ryan of Madrica and Princess Gabriella of Airmar!"

It was custom for the Prince or Princess of the Kingdom that the "Gathering" was held at to enter last with their partner. There were eight Kingdoms all together: Airmar, Madrica, Vanirind, Syley, Icica, Drasden, Quopesk and Bogorg. Each Prince or Princess got to bring along one servant, knight, lady-in-waiting or practically anyone they wanted to bring.

And when Gabriella felt all eyes on her, royals, servants, knights, ladys-in-waiting and all, she felt quite faint. But she plastered on a fake smile and made her way down the banquet hall, arm in arm with Ryan. She focused her eyes on Sharpay, for fear that if she looked at anyone else their stares would make her want to run away.

Slowly, she let her gaze travel across the room. She saw Chad sitting next to Sharpay. Another girl sat next to Chad. She assumed that this was Kelsi, Princess Taylor's lady-in-waiting.

All the "bring alongs" were seated along one table. Another table was next to it. This was the table the Royals sat at. There was another table up the front of the hall for the King and Queen of Madrica. This was where Gabriella and Ryan would sit.

As they passed through the middle of the tables, Gabriella's eyes locked onto someone else's gaze. It was a Prince's stare. He was seated next to Princess Taylor; who she had met on one occasion. She remembered Chad saying that his Prince, Prince Troy, was arranged to marry her.

_So this is Prince Troy, _Gabriella mused, _hopefully he can live up to his father's reputation. _

Everyone knew Troy's father; Jack the 1st, was one of the greatest Kings of all time. He had fought in many of the worlds wars, even if his land was not part of it. He liked to help other lands sort things out. He was greatly looked up to.

Troy's eyes seemed sympathetic. He was obviously sorry that she had to marry Prince Ryan. Gabriella tore her eyes away and stood up straighter. She didn't need people feeling sorry for her. She could take care of herself. If this was what fate threw at her, she could handle it.

Though, unable to resist, Gabriella stole another glance at Troy. He wasn't looking at her anymore. Gabriella was glad. For some reason she didn't want him to see her looking at her again.

Gabriella and Ryan got to their table and sat down, side by side. The King sat on Gabriella's left and the Queen sat to Ryan's right. This made Gabriella very uneasy, for it meant she was trapped. No where to run. She gulped. When she was married, there would be nowhere to go. Confined in the walls of a strange castle.

The King stiffly rose.

"Welcome to our First Banquet!" He boomed. Every voice in the hall hushed. All eyes turned to the King.

"As you all know, you will be staying in my Kingdom for 6 months, until all your marriages can be arranged." Many Royals squirmed at the mention of the arranged marriages. Gabriella couldn't help but shiver too.

"After the feast, my servants will take you to your sleeping chambers. Each separate Prince and Princess will have their own separate sleeping chambers. All of them are on the next floor up. It gets very cold up there, so I advise you to sleep with as many blankets as you can. Each lady-in-waiting, knight or servant shall sleep in the same chambers as their Prince or Princess." The King took a deep breath.

"Now for the introductions. Prince Jason of Bogorg and Princess Martha of Quopesk!" A couple from the back end of the table rose. They actually looked quite happy with their marriage arrangement, Gabriella noticed, either that or they were pretending for some reason. They sat back down.

"Prince Charles of Icica and Princess Bonnie of Drasden!" A couple from the other end of the table stood up. They clearly looked annoyed by the marriage arrangements.

_Aren't most of us _Gabriella thought dryly.

"Prince Troy of Vanirind and Princess Taylor of Syley!" Troy and Taylor stood up. Gabriella couldn't tell if they were happy or not. But she could not tear her gaze away from Troy. He looked straight into her eyes. She wanted to look away. He smiled. But she couldn't tell if it was for her or everyone. Gabriella was so fixated in her thoughts that she hardly heard her own name being called. It was only when Ryan nudged her that she stood up.

"Let the feast begin!"

The feast lasted for hours. It was very late by the time Sharpay and Gabriella were shown to their room. The room they would sleep in for the next six months.

It wasn't as gloomy as the rest of the rest of the castle. Colourful tapestries adorned the stone walls; windows were made with stained glass that lit the room up with many beautiful colours when the sun shined through them. Gabriella's eyes roamed around the room and over to her bed. It was an amazing sight. Many beautiful images were carved into the beds head. A luxurious blanket was laid across the it, with pillows placed upon it.

"He's not that bad you know," Sharpay looked over to the princess.

"Huh?" Gabriella looked back at her.

"Prince Ryan, he's not that bad"

"Yeah" Gabriella wasn't really listening to her lady-in-waiting. All she could think about was Prince Troy. The way he had looked at her and smiled. She couldn't get him out of her head.

"What are you thinking about?" Sharpay plopped herself on her bed.

"Oh, nothing of interest," she didn't want Sharpay to know that she was thinking of Troy.

"Oh come on, I have known you for ages, don't you think I know when your lying." She stared at Gabriella.

"I'm not lying, I swear," Gabriella protested.

"Whatever you say," Sharpay slipped under her blanket. "Let's just go to bed."

Gabriella hopped into her bed, now thinking about her marriage to Prince Ryan. Hopefully, after a good nights sleep, it wouldn't seem so bad after all.


	3. The Midnight Encounter

"**Learn To Accept Fate"**

**3. A Midnight Encounter**

Gabriella couldn't sleep. She had tossed and turned for countless hours and had finally gave up. She looked out the window next to her bed. It was pitch-black.

_So much for a good nights sleep,_ she signed.

Gabriella slipped out of bed and put on her coat. It wasn't as freezing as the King had made it out to be. She felt like exploring but decided against going out to the front door. It would attract too much attention; there were probably twenty or so guards out.

She turned around to see a wooden door next to her window. Gingerly, she crept up the door and slowly, and as quietly as possible, she turned the door knob. It was not locked and swung open with a groan. Gabriella paused, not daring to breath; thinking that she had woken Sharpay up. And she would not be happy with Gabriella sneaking around the castle at night. When all Sharpay did was turn over, Gabriella was satisfied she had not waken her up.

The room was filling with chilly air now and Gabriella was sure Sharpay would wake up if she didn't close the door. She quickly slipped outside into the cold night air and closed the door. She breathed in the air, feeling free for the first time since she had been there.

Out on the balcony wasn't very much exploring, so Gabriella searched for a way to get down onto the ground. She surveyed that she was quite high up, so jumping was not an option. But she saw some vines slithering their way up the side of the castle next to the balcony.

Gathering courage, she grabbed one on the vines. They were thick and strong. Her heart started to beat faster as her other hand gripped the vines. Scrambling for footholds, Gabriella made her way down the wall. The vines were slippery from the rain and as she got closer to the ground the vines were more spread out and there were fewer footholds. She jumped the last metre, not wanting to fall.

Proud of herself, Gabriella looked out into the dark to see if she could find somewhere to sit. Her eyes adjusted slowly and she found a small garden that looked very inviting. It was strange to see the beautiful garden caged in the looming black walls.

Gabriella leisurely strolled over to a bench seated in the middle of the garden. A small waterfall trickled water into a small rock pool. Gabriella knelt down and put her hand into the water, letting it tumble over her fingers. The water was icy and after only a few seconds her fingers turned numb. She retracted her hand and shook it, flicking the water off. She sat back on the bench and just watched the ripples in the water.

"You're not supposed to be out you now, if Ryan found out he'd have a fit." a voice whispered in her ear. She gave a yelp and turned sharply towards the voice.

"Who's there?" She asked feeling less confident then she sounded.

When no one spoke, she angrily whirled around looking for the owner of the voice.

"As Princess of Airmar I demand you to reveal yourself!"

"You have no right over me Princess." A young man stepped out of the shadows. Gabriella gasped when she realised who it was. It was Troy.

"What are you doing out here?" She demanded irritably. She was very angry at him for sneaking up on her like that.

"What are you doing out here?" He asked, giving her a boyish grin that made her heart flutter.

"I asked you first," She was getting annoyed now.

"I was waiting for you." He said mysteriously.

"How'd you know I was going to be out here?" She asked, intrigued.

"I've been out here for ages. I didn't go to bed. I saw you walk out on your balcony, so I waited till you managed to find a way down."

Gabriella suddenly became furious.

"YOU'VE BEEN SPYING ON ME!" Gabriella screeched.

"Shhh, do you want to wake up the whole castle," he retorted; covering her mouth with his hand.

"Don't touch me," She snarled, violently throwing his hand away.

"Ok, ok sorry, I just don't really want to be caught." He stared at her.

"If you were worried about getting caught, you shouldn't have come out here in the first place," She stared right back.

"I wanted to see you," he said, moving his gaze to the ground.

"Why?" She asked, annoyed.

"I wanted to see if you were ok," He returned his gaze to her and shrugged.

"Why?" She asked him again.

"Because you seemed upset at the banquet." He said simply.

"I was not upset," She lied. "I just came out here because I wanted to explore."

"At this time of night? Did you think you would have no freedom anymore since your here?" He raised one eyebrow at her. She thought he looked like he was mocking her, like her explanation wasn't good enough.

"No, I just usually go walking at night." This was not a lie. Gabriella had always gone walking outside when she hadn't been able to sleep. Knowing what he was going to ask next, Gabriella answered before he could even ask, "And if you want to know, I snuck out because I didn't want to wake anybody."

"I wasn't going to ask," Troy gave a sly grin and chuckled. Gabriella gave a frustrated sigh.

"Did you really just come out here to annoy me on my peaceful walk?"

"You didn't seem to be walking much," his grin got bigger and he leaned against a tree. Then his face turned serious, "You might of looked happy, but I could tell you weren't."

Gabriella looked baffled, "I thought we got off that subject."

"No, you tried to avoid it."

"Well, are _you _happy with the arrangement?" Gabriella shot back.

"I'm not happy that we are being forced to marry, no, but Princess Taylor seems very nice and I am sure I will be happy enough." He replied.

"Your not even a little bit sad, disappointed, that you don't get to find true love?" Gabriella enquired exasperated.

"I said that I wasn't happy about being forced to marry, didn't I? I'm just saying that if we _are _being forced to marry, I could do much worse."

Gabriella suddenly sat down hard on the bench; she stared up at Troy, looking defeated.

"I am not happy with my arrangement. Your right, I was upset at the banquet. Sharpay has tried to tell me otherwise, that it won't be so bad. But… I just _really _want to find true love. I knew that this would be my fate," She said bitterly, then laughed forlornly, "But I always used to pretend that it wasn't. When I was very little, I would imagine about what would happen when I grew up. I would imagine that I had found the perfect person and that we would live in a castle up on a hill, looking down over the land. It would be beautiful," Gabriella laughed sadly again. "I guess it just never sunk in until now. Now I'm here. And I know now that I can never escape."

Troy sat down next to her.

"You feel really strongly about this don't you?"

Gabriella nodded. She looked around at the stone walls that held her fate. Trapped her there like a miserable animal.

"Maybe it will all work out. You never know what the future has for us."

* * *

**I just want to say that this story will be TOTAL TROYELLA**


	4. She Who Is Blessed, Must Also Be Cursed

"**Learn To Accept Fate"**

**She Who Is Blessed, Must Also Be Cursed**

Sunlight streamed out of the stained glassed window, filling the room with a blinding glare. Gabriella whimpered and rolled over.

It took a few seconds before Gabriella could see properly. She didn't remember what time she had eventually snuck back inside. She smiled. She had talked to Troy for ages, before realising that there were only a few hours before dawn. Gabriella grimaced when she realised that had meant she had only gotten three or four hours sleep.

It was three weeks since Gabriella and Sharpay had arrived and it was the seventh time Gabriella had snuck out at night. It was very tiring to do so, but that was really the only time Troy and her got to talk. During the day, he was preoccupied with Taylor and Gabriella was forced to spend most of her time with Ryan. She even only got to see Sharpay at night and meal times.

"Come on Gabby, get out of bed. Breakfast will be served in about 15 minutes!" Sharpay burst into the room. Gabriella groaned and swung her legs out of bed.

"Why are you always so tired?" Sharpay looked at her questionably.

"Oh, I just can't sleep," Gabriella replied.

"There you go, lying to me again. I thought I was your friend?"

"I'm not lying to you Sharpay, I promise. Now go wait for me at breakfast." Gabriella told her. Sharpay muttered something about disloyalty, which made Gabriella laugh.

"I hope everyone had a good nights sleep," The King said. He said the same thing every morning. Gabriella looked around the dining room. Everyone seemed to be in deep conversation about one thing or another. Gabriella looked at her porridge, for some reason or another she just didn't seem hungry. Her gazed roamed around the room once more and landed on Troy. He looked up and gazed back.

"How are you?" He mouthed across the room.

"Good, thankyou," She mouthed back. But she didn't think he had seen, for Taylor had nudged him and asked him a question.

"What's on the agenda today?" Gabriella asked Sharpay. Before Sharpay could answer the room fell silent. Both girls looked up to see what had happened. Gabriella couldn't help but shiver when she saw Ryan enter, smiling. Every morning he smiled, but it always seemed lifeless, like a show he put on to keep everyone in their place.

The chatter commenced again as Ryan weaved his way through the tables. Gabriella saw Troy give her a look as Ryan passed him, but before Gabriella could decipher what it was, Ryan came abruptly up to her.

"I just got a message from Zeke; the people want to meet you. They want to see what their new queen will be like."

"Um, ok," Gabriella didn't know what to say.

"You shall meet me at my study at midday. I shall then escort you to the Town Centre where you will meet the people." And with a quick hollow smile, he walked away.

"Oooh, this is exciting!" Sharpay practically squealed.

Gabriella wished she shared Sharpay's enthusiasm. But she didn't. This just made her more nervous and uncomfortable. She looked over to Troy's table, but he was gone.

"Hurry up and eat Gabby, we've got to get ready," Sharpay snapped her out of her thoughts.

"I'm not hungry," Gabriella got up and walked out of the dining room.

The carriage rumbled along the dirt road, making its way to the town. While Sharpay examined the passing scenery, eagerly waiting to enter the town, Gabriella hung back inside the carriage. Though Sharpay kept remarking at how beautiful everything was Gabriella just wasn't in the mood to appreciate the landscape. Ryan didn't seem to be either; he just sat back in his seat, his eyes always looking at her.

"Gabriella! We've arrived!" Sharpay gave an excited shout.

Now Gabriella couldn't help but be a little bit inquisitive. Curiously, she leaned forward and peered out the window. She almost gasped. The Town was the complete opposite of the castle. It wasn't gloomy at all. In fact, Gabriella couldn't believe that a town could be so happy with a King so callous and a castle so dull.

Children scampered through the streets, laughing and frolicking about, followed by dogs; loping behind, tongues hanging out, obviously excited by the noise. Curious men and women came out onto the streets, trying to get a glimpse at the to-be queen.

The streets were made of cobblestone and the ride into the town centre was smooth. Gabriella was now quite keen to get out of the carriage and take a look around. The carriage came to a halt right in the middle of the town square. Ryan opened his door and stepped out of the carriage. So did Sharpay. Gabriella didn't know how they had managed to get out the door with all the people crowding around.

Ryan sauntered over to Gabriella's door and pulled it open. He helped her down and she was glad he did for she felt a little faint from all the eyes staring at her. Every person in the crowd craned their necks to see her.

"Princess Gabriella!" Ryan boomed out into the crowd. The crowd roared a welcome. Gabriella managed a weak smile, a little bit shocked by the greeting.

Ryan moved in front of her.

"Please, everyone go back to your daily business. The Princess will come around to you all," Ryan said smoothly. The crowd murmured between themselves and slowly departed. Gabriella was actually thankful that Ryan did that. All that attention in this strange town made her queasy.

"Feel free to explore. I have to go do some business with someone. Meet me back here at the carriage." Ryan hurried off. Sharpay had seemed to of vanished as well.

_Well, I'll go explore by myself then. _Gabriella thought as she started to make her way through the streets. Many people stared as she passed but none dared come up to her. Gabriella found this as odd, for they all seemed so eager to see her before. They probably thought they had angered Ryan. Or her. They thought that Ryan would be exactly like his dad. Gabriella hoped very much that was not the case. She didn't want to marry an oppressor.

The town was very noisy and Gabriella found that she was very interested in it all. She found herself peering into every shop and stall. Some sold food, some sold blankets and rugs and others sold jewellery. Gabriella held up a pretty golden necklace, but put it down when she saw a strange shadow slinking in the corner of an alley. She cautiously inched towards the dark alleyway. She peeked around the corner and saw a remarkable stall. Long, thick, black curtains hid the table and its owner from sight. Gabriella got a sudden shiver up her spine. She didn't like the look of the place. She turned around to go back to the jewellery stall she had been looking at when a voice made her freeze on the spot.

"Princess," It rasped. The voice sounded cracked and coarse. Frightened, Gabriella slowly turned around and her heart almost leaped out of chest. A gaunt, haggard old woman had suddenly emerged, pointing one long, scrawny finger at her.

Gabriella was too petrified to say anything. The old woman coughed harshly and spoke again.

"She who is blessed must also be cursed." She whispered.

_What? _Gabriella thought.

"Be warned. A blessing will always be followed by darkness. Be warned!" The woman cried, taking a step towards Gabriella.

She felt her panic rise as the old woman came closer. Gabriella spun in terror and fled away, franticly pushing her way through the crowds until she was again in the middle of the Town Centre. Her breathing was hard as she looked around for any sign of the old woman. Gabriella shuddered, but was relived. The old woman was gone.

Now all that worried Gabriella was the bizarre, frightening thing the woman had said.

_What did she mean by a blessing and a curse? _Gabriella's mind whirred. Since she did not know what to make of it, she decided not to tell Sharpay until she was at least a tiny bit certain of what the message meant.


	5. Thoughts

"**Learn To Accept Fate"**

**5. Thoughts **

One month had passed since everyone's arrivals and all the wedding plans were just starting to be arranged. Much to Gabriella's dismay, this meant that her free time was even more limited then it had been before and Gabriella was already worn out from her midnight outings and from playing the old woman's words over and over in her head.

For some reason, which frustrated her to no end, she couldn't understand them. To her they made no sense at all. She would almost be at a conclusion when someone would snap her out of her thoughts; whether it was Sharpay, Ryan or Troy saying hello on the rare occasion.

She still hadn't told anyone about the encounter. It was still too mysterious and frightening.

"Gabriella!"

Sighing as her thoughts were once again most rudely interrupted, Gabriella turned towards the voice. Sharpay stood there with a wide grin on her face.

"Do you have any free time? Are you free now?"

"Yes. Only for a little while though. Thankfully." Since free time was now a very rare moment, Gabriella liked to spend that time thinking. But a talk with Sharpay could be just what she needed to help her thoughts.

"Great. Well come on then, we don't want to waste anytime if you don't have much." Sharpay grabbed Gabriella's hand and pulled her outside. Sharpay took her to the garden that Troy and her met up at some nights, though Sharpay of course did not know this.

Sharpay plonked herself on the seat and motioned for Gabriella to sit on her left.

"So, I haven't been able to talk to you for ages. Whenever I get to bed you're already asleep…" Sharpay started chatting away and Gabriella tried to listen. But now she realised that she _really _wanted to get back to her thoughts. She couldn't say that to Sharpay though since it was obvious she really wanted to catch up on the missed time.

"Hey, couldn't wait till midnight huh?" Troy's voice floated through some bushes to Gabriella's right. She froze at the sound and Sharpay stared at her suspiciously and confused.

Troy oblivious to Sharpay's presence, stepped out from the bushes grinning. His face hardened as soon as he saw Sharpay's bewildered face.

"What do you mean?" Sharpay glared at both Gabriella and Troy. Troy looked guiltily at the ground.

"Nothing Sharpay, he was joking." Gabriella said smoothly. Sharpay raised an eyebrow.

"What," Gabriella shrugged, "Troy and I met a few days ago. He is just a jokester, nothing else." Troy nodded vigorously as Sharpay still did not look convinced. Gabriella shot Troy a desperate look that she hoped Sharpay did not catch. Luckily, someone shouted Sharpay's and she had to leave. Gabriella knew that the subject was not over and Sharpay would ask more questions. But that was to worry about later.

Troy gave Gabriella a look of total remorse. "I am really sorry. I didn't see her there!"

"It's okay Troy, really. Just watch out next time okay?"

"Really, really sorry. She's going to give you a hard time isn't she, when you get back to your room?"

"Yeah. I'll survive." Gabriella sighed.

"Well if it helps, I think Taylor's noticed something. I'm always tired and she seems suspicious. But anyway, are we still on for tonight?" Troy looked at Gabriella hopefully. She smiled reassuringly.

"Yeah, I'll meet you here."

"Great. Got to go. I just came to say hi." Troy scurried off, leaving Gabriella with no time to collect her thoughts.

"Troy." Gabriella whispered into the darkness. Everything was quiet. Waves rippled on the small pool when the water splashed into it. Gabriella turned her head from side to side, looking for a glimpse of Troy.

"Troy!" She whispered louder.

She was very cross now. Troy had said he would meet her.

When nobody came out, Gabriella turned to walk away. But just as she was walking away, someone grabbed her from behind. Gabriella squealed. The arms let go and Gabriella whipped around in fright, ready to attack whoever had grabbed her. She stopped short when she saw it was only Troy; grinning and laughing like an idiot at her expression.

"Troy!" Gabriella scowled, giving him a playful shove. "I thought someone was attacking me!"

Troy kept on grinning.

"Well, the way you screamed, even I would have thought you were being attacked."

Gabriella gave Troy another piercing stare, but then softened her gaze.

"I guess no damage has been done." She muttered. Troy looked at her with an apologetic expression for the second time that day and Gabriella couldn't help but smile.

"So how was…" But before Gabriella could finish her sentence, Troy pulled her close and kissed her.

Gabriella was taken by complete surprise. And even though she knew that it was completely wrong. Everything about it was wrong. But she didn't want it to end. She never wanted it to end, she realised. It was as if she had been split in two. Half of her wanted it to continue, didn't care that it was prohibited. The other half knew it was wrong, knew it should stop.

The half that didn't care won over.

The kiss lasted for what seemed like hours and Troy finally withdrew.

"Don't," Gabriella murmured and Troy pulled her in again.


	6. Midnight Discovery

"**Learn To Accept Fate"**

**6. Midnight Discovery**

Abruptly, Gabriella broke away. Troy looked at her surprised that she pushed away. But then his expression turned into a mischievous grin.

Gabriella didn't seem to share his amusement.

"It might be funny for you, but I'm the one who's marrying the tyrant. He won't take this lightly."

"Who says he has to find out?" Troy said exasperated, "Anyway, why are you suddenly all serious. It was _you _who didn't want to stop before."

"That was _before _I realised what the consequences were! I wasn't thinking straight." She said stubbornly. Troy gazed at her bemused. Finally she managed a small smile.

"Well, I guess if he doesn't find out. I mean, I was searching for love before I got here. I never thought I would find it here."

"I guess you did." Troy whispered and wrapped his arms around her.

* * *

1 month later, Gabriella was sitting outside in the garden. It was the middle of the day and Gabriella was spending what little free time she had in her favourite place in the whole castle. It seemed to be the only place that wasn't dreary or tedious. The sun was high in the sky and blazing hot. Gabriella was smiling contentedly to herself. No matter how tired she was from her nightly outings or annoyed she was at Ryan's lack of care for her; she just wasn't gloomy. All she could think about was Troy.

She had finally found true love; even if she could be punished for it. She didn't care; her happiness seemed to drive her doubts away. But even though she was cheerful, Gabriella was also very vigilant.

First of all, Sharpay seemed to be acting very maddened around Gabriella, for she thought that Gabriella was acting very secretive and was constantly asking her what she was thinking.

Also, she was constantly worried that Ryan knew about her and Troy. She knew this was impossible since Ryan would have said something if he knew. But this thought still did not settle her completely. What Gabriella did _not_ know however, was that some other people were getting close in knowing her and Troy's secret…

* * *

It was midnight. The moon illuminated everything in the room, giving it a supernatural radiance.

Sharpay had just woken up. She hadn't been able to sleep for long. Her thoughts kept turning over why she had not been able to figure out what Gabriella was hiding. And there was that odd comment made by Troy a month earlier. He had said something about a 'midnight meeting'. She knew Gabriella had been lying about it meaning nothing. She also knew that the comment and Gabriella's hidden secret were connected. She just couldn't figure out how.

_What if she _is _having secret meetings with Troy at midnight? _Sharpay mused.

This was not the first time she had thought this. Other times she had immediately dismissed it. But now she was hesitant.

_It wouldn't hurt to check, _Sharpay thought, _I can't get to sleep anyway._

Sharpay pushed herself up with her hands and let her eyes get adjusted to the darkness. As soon as they did, she slipped out of bed and edged over to Gabriella's bed.

She felt herself freeze with shock.

Gabriella wasn't there.

_What do you know? _Sharpay thought stunned, _she _is _out having a secret meeting!_

Sharpay felt angry. Very angry.

This was why Gabriella seemed to be so tired all the time. She was out in the dark somewhere and Sharpay was determent to find out where.

Her mind flashed back to when Troy had made the midnight meeting comment. She and Gabriella had been sitting in a garden when Troy had come across them.

_Is that were they hold their secret meetings? _

Sharpay was glad it was not raining as it had yesterday night as she threw open the balcony doors.

She didn't want to wake anyone else up and besides, the castle was probably crawling with guards. Sharpay knew Gabriella would have thought this to. Now all Sharpay needed to figure out was how Gabriella got down from the balcony.

Sharpay knew her suspicions of where Gabriella could be were confirmed when she saw the garden from the balcony. She also saw some thick vines and knew that was how Gabriella had managed to get down and back up. She remembered she had seen a few rips in the princess clothing.

Sharpay halted when she thought she heard voices floating up from the ground. Gingerly, she peeked over the edge of the balcony. Sure enough, Sharpay saw Gabriella and Troy come out behind some of the bushes surrounding the garden.

Troy grabbed Gabriella around the stomach and swung her around, causing Gabriella to let out a high pitched squeal and then to giggle uncontrollably. Troy seemed to grin at this and both of them disappeared back into the shadows.

_So this was what Gabriella does most nights, _Sharpay thought astounded, _she goes out into the dark to frolic around with another Prince!_

Sharpay didn't know why this made her outraged, all she knew is that tomorrow morning, she was getting Gabriella up bright and early to have a chat.


	7. The Evening After

"**Learn To Accept Fate"**

**7. The Evening After**

Sharpay woke with a start. She tore back the cover and scrambled over to Gabriella's bed.

Her face fell. Gabriella wasn't there. Sharpay let out a sign of frustration.

_I guess I'll have to catch her later, _Sharpay thought irritably. _She must already be at breakfast._

* * *

It was early evening. After dinner Sharpay stomped down the hall towards Gabriella and her bedroom. She whipped sharply around the corner and stumbled as she bumped into someone. 

"Gabby I've been looking for…." Sharpay's face fell when she saw who it was. It was Taylor. Sharpay had meet Taylor on more then one occasion and had found her very nice.

"Expecting someone else?" Taylor looked at her.

"Um…. I'm really sorry about bumping into you," Sharpay stammered. Taylor looked at her quizzically. Sharpay stared back.

_Does she know? _She thought inquisitively, _does she know about Gabriella and Troy?_

"Do you know about Troy and Gabriella?" Sharpay blurted; unable to hold her curiosity.

"What about them?" Taylor asked suspiciously, hands on hips. Sharpay looked at the floor embarrassed. There was no way she could cover it up now.

Sharpay told Taylor everything she had seen, and that she was on her way to talk to Gabriella. Taylor listened quietly, her expression not showing anything making Sharpay feel queasy; not knowing what Taylor was thinking.

Sharpay felt even more uneasy when Taylor stayed quiet. Finally for what seemed like 5 agonising minutes, Taylor spoke.

"Well, if you're going to talk to Gabriella, I'll talk to Troy." She said simply, turned on her heel and strode away.

Sharpay was a bit surprised Taylor did not say more, but shrugged and marched off to find Gabriella.

* * *

"Troy?" Taylor's voice called from outside the room. 

Troy looked up from his desk. It was piled with papers and he was not very happy with the interruption. But he was more curious as to why Taylor wanted him now. Normally, evening was a time that everyone spent by themselves or with other people.

"Come in," he called out, nevertheless. He went back to scribbling as Taylor entered and closed the door with a soft click. Managing to get one more word written down, Troy looked up again. He noted that Taylor looked confused and even a little bit angry.

"Is everything alright?" He enquired; frowning. Taylor gazed straight into Troy's eyes as she sat down on the chair opposite him.

Taylor still didn't speak, just kept staring at him.

"Well, is everything alright?" He asked fractiously.

"How long have you and Gabriella been going on night walks?" Taylor asked quietly. Troy paled.

"What?" He stuttered.

"It was a simple question."

Troy sighed, "How long have you known?"

"Just then. Sharpay saw you and told me." Taylor answered. "Do you love her? She asked suddenly.

"Yes." Troy replied immediately and he wasn't surprised at himself at all. He did really love Gabriella. He just hoped Taylor wouldn't tell the wrong people. He didn't want Gabriella to get hurt. "Please don't tell anyone Taylor. This can't get out." He looked her in the eye, "And I'm sorry."

"I don't mind. It's nice you've found someone." A sad smile came across Taylor's face, "As long as you manage to keep it a secret and still go along with this marriage, I don't really care. I'm going to see Sharpay and Gabriella."

And with that Taylor stood up and left, Troy quickly scampering to follow her.

* * *

"Gabriella!" Sharpay shouted from down the hall. 

"I'm in the room," Gabriella chirped. She gave a small cry as Sharpay burst into the room and slammed the door.

"Are you trying to get killed?" Sharpay snapped. Gabriella was completely taken back.

"What? Sharpay, what's wrong, what do you mean?" Gabriella said frantically.

"You know what I mean; I saw you and Troy outside last night."

Gabriella looked like she was going to faint. Her legs felt feeble and weak as she sank into a chair. She looked up at Sharpay with watery eyes.

"Please. Sharpay. Troy and I are in love. Please, I've finally found what I've been searching for. Aren't you happy?"

"I'm not happy if this could get you killed! And Troy killed to, did you think of that?" Sharpay demanded. Gabriella started sobbing.

"Yes. Of course we did. That's why we wanted to keep it a secret. Please Sharpay don't tell." Gabriella begged, "Why are you so angry?"

"Because you know what Ryan will do if he finds out? Don't you. I don't want anything to happen to you. Because if you keep going like this, it'll be your funeral."

Gabriella shivered at Sharpay's words and suddenly stood up, glaring at her and wiping the tears from her eyes.

"I'm happy. I haven't been this happy ever. I always thought that my life would be awful. Being married off and sent to live in a far of place. But now, with Troy, it doesn't seem so bad. And anyway, no ones going to find out if _you _don't tell anyone."

Sharpay's face seemed to soften at Gabriella's outburst.

"I'm sorry." Sharpay mumbled. "I should be happy for you. I'm really sorry."

Gabriella smiled and went over to Sharpay and hugged her.

"I won't tell anyone. Don't worry." Sharpay broke away and her face turned serious. "But Taylor knows to. I'm not so sure about her."

"No need to worry." Taylor and Troy appeared at the door.

Troy and Gabriella's eye's locked. And both of them smiled at their luck.

* * *

**Hope you enjoying the story so far! Please review and tell me what you think. **


	8. The Hidden Meeting

"**Learn To Accept Fate"**

**8. The Hidden Meeting**

There was no moon. The night was sinister and full of shadows. Most of the torches lining the walls were reduced to embers; only a few burned dimly. All the guards marched through the hallways holding their own torches, patrolling their areas. Everyone else was asleep. He'd made sure of it. He'd checked every room, praying no one woke up when he opened their doors. Luckily all the doors didn't make the faintest sound. But this still gave him no comfort.

Zeke quickened his pace and hastily made his way down the corridor; looking anxiously around him. He felt like he was being watched, but shook off the feeling as he approached the stone brick wall. He briefly peered into the darkness to make sure no one had followed him. An owl hooted in the distance and some mice scurried across the floor, their nails scratching against the hard stone.

Satisfied that no one had followed him; Zeke walked over to a certain brick and pulled it away from the wall, revealing a small knob. He placed his hand on it and turned it a quarter turn, counter-clockwise. He then turned it a full turn clockwise. There was a slight rumbling as the wall moved away, revealing a narrow passageway. Zeke scurried through and closed the wall. It was pitch black. There were no lights in the passageway. Zeke felt his way along the wall until it stopped abruptly. He slowly searched for the metal door handle that he knew was there.

He rapped on the door and listened for an answer.

"Come in, about time you got here," A voice behind the door muttered gruffly.

Zeke grasped the door handle, swung the door open and entered the room on the other side.

The room was much brighter then the castle. Six or seven torches adorned its walls giving the room plenty of light, but still left room for shadows. A large oak desk sat in a corner of the room. A dusty, woven red rug lay in the middle and just behind that was a bookcase filled with heavy old books.

"Shut the door behind you," The voice commanded. Zeke could just make out the silhouette of the man behind the desk.

"I came as quickly as I could, but I wanted to make sure no one followed me." Zeke explained nervously.

"Well you better hope no one did, we wouldn't want anyone finding our little hideout would we?" Ryan snarled and stepped out from his desk.

"O-of co-course not," Zeke stammered helplessly.

"Sit," Ryan ordered him and Zeke was quick to comply. He plonked himself on the nearest chair and looked up at Ryan.

"So, you know why you're here?"

Zeke dared to shake his head. Ryan gave a sly smile.

"Well," He cleared his throat and lent lazily on his desk. "As you know, we have scheduled all the marriages to be in six mouths." He paused for a bit, as if he was waiting for Zeke to say something.

"Ok," Zeke was lost for words. Ryan continued.

"Now, this is something that will postpone my plan." He paused again.

"How? What is your plan?" Zeke managed to say.

"Let me finish," Ryan snarled. "As I was saying, I may not be able to move the marriage dates, but that still should not matter. Now…"

"What is the plan exactly?" Zeke interrupted. Ryan shot him a dangerous look for interrupting.

"Why, to kill Gabriella of course." Ryan said it as if it was nothing.

"Why?" Zeke said in awe.

"Because," Ryan was starting to get very annoyed with Zeke's questions. "I don't want to share my throne with anyone. My power. A queen will just hold me back. See; as soon as Gabriella and I are alone after our wedding, I will kill her. I'm not sure how yet. I thinking of doing something subtle. Maybe I'll poison her. Anyway; she'll be dead, I'll blame it on someone else, and I'll be able to rule on my own!" Ryan clapped his hands together and laughed darkly.

Zeke didn't speak. He wasn't sure if he was supposed to speak.

"Well, what do you think?" Ryan looked at Zeke.

"Um, well, I…" Zeke started.

"Stop mumbling!" Ryan yelled at him.

"I think it's a good idea," Zeke said quickly.

"Excellent, we shall start preparations next week. You shall come here at 12:00 exactly."

"Why do we need to make preparations," Zeke asked. Ryan looked at him, displeased and Zeke knew he had said the wrong thing.

"Sometimes I wonder why I still let you work for me." Ryan muttered.

"Um, I meant what do we need to prepare?" Zeke looked at the floor.

"Well, how I am going to kill Gabriella of course, and who we are going to blame it on?" The questions were more for himself than Zeke.

"Why don't you just stab her and plant the knife in someone else's room." Zeke winced when he knew he had said the wrong thing again.

"Because you narrow-minded idiot, that would be to easy for someone to trace it back to me. We need to think of something cunning and hard for someone to track," Ryan snapped at him.

"I'm sorry sir, I shouldn't have been so stupid," Zeke continued to stare at the floor.

"Look at me!" Ryan bellowed.

"Yes sir," Zeke squeaked and hastily looked up at him.

"Now, go away and don't let anyone see you," Ryan walked back to his desk and started on his paperwork.

Zeke gave him a quick nod and scampered out of the room. Ryan glanced at the door as Zeke swung it shut and smiled icily. His plan was going perfectly.

**

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**

My sister helped me a lot with this chapter, cos she likes "evil" things

Please Review


	9. Tears Of Fear

"**Learn To Accept Fate"**

**9. Tears Of Fear**

Three months had passed making it a total of five months since everyone had arrived. One month until the weddings. Last minute arrangements were being organised and hectic people scurried around, trying to make the most of the time they had.

Only one group of 8 people had nothing to do at all but sit and relax.

The "bring-alongs", as they were known, were not required to do anything but what their Prince or Princess asked of them. Since the weddings were so close, and most of the royals spent their time together, the "bring-alongs" had nothing to do.

Sharpay spent her days wandering around the castle with Chad and Kelsi. They would chat about anything that came to mind. One of the topics that always seemed to pop up in their talks was what their lives would be like after the marriages.

Sharpay knew Gabriella was devastated that the time Troy and her spent together was coming to an end. They both knew once Troy left they would never see each other again, apart from some very few occasions.

Sharpay was currently lying on her bed, looking out at the gloomy walls that would now be her life.

Both Kelsi and Chad had been called away to tend to some things for Troy and Taylor, leaving Sharpay bored and alone.

She noticed that it was getting dark; the sun was just visible over the gray hills that loomed in the distance. She sighed and shivered as chilly wind blew into the room from an open window. She quickly scurried over to close it and then went back to her bed to snuggle deep into her blankets.

Sharpay knew it must have been close to dinner time. Sometimes Gabriella managed to get away for a few minutes or so before dinner. She would normally go out on her own when this happened, but ever so often she would come to the room and talk to Sharpay.

Since she was so bored, Sharpay hoped today was one of those days.

As if on queue, Sharpay heard the door slowly creak open.

"Sharpay, are you there?" Gabriella's head poked round the door.

"Hey, you managed to get away." Sharpay smiled. Gabriella smiled back but Sharpay could tell something was not right about it.

"Gabby," She started, "Are you okay?"

Gabriella nodded quickly and sat down hard on her bed. Sharpay shot her a quizzical look. Gabriella just turned away, making Sharpay more curious then ever.

"You sure you're okay." Sharpay asked again. Gabriella bit her trembling bottom lip, nodded again and then looked at the floor. Sharpay sat down next to Gabriella on the bed.

"What's happened? You obviously came here to tell me something; otherwise you'd be out by yourself," Sharpay tilted Gabriella's head up she was looking straight into her eyes. Sharpay could see she was at the verge of tears. "Is it Troy?"

At those words Gabriella burst into tears.

"Gabriella!" Sharpay cried anxiously, throwing an arm round Gabriella's shoulders. "What's the matter? What has happened?"

Gabriella continued to sob, her whole body shaking violently. After a few minutes, Sharpay finally managed to settle Gabriella down.

"Gabby, what's happened with Troy?" Sharpay said as calmly as she could.

"Troy's fine. It's not that…" Gabriella sniffed and a few more tears trailed down her cheeks. Sharpay patiently waited for her to go on.

"Sharpay…" Gabriella's voice trailed off again, "I'm pregnant."

Sharpay stared at Gabriella in shock. She didn't know what to say.

"Please say something." Gabriella begged, started to cry again.

"Are you sure?" Sharpay finally said. Gabriella's expression turned confused.

"What, of course I'm sure. I think I'd know if I was pregnant!" Gabriella scowled.

"Does Troy know?" Sharpay asked.

"No."

Sharpay clasped her hands and put them in her lap. "Are you going to tell him?"

"No. Less people know the better. In fact, I really shouldn't have even told you." Gabriella replied.

"What? Gabby…"

"Don't you get it?" Gabriella suddenly got hysterical and leaped of the bed, "if Ryan finds out he'll kill Troy! I know it! And he'll kill the baby!"

"Gabriella!" Sharpay snapped, grabbing Gabriella's arm and pulling her back down. "Ryan would never do that! He may not be all that nice but he would never kill someone! Not without good reason."

"Isn't this a good enough reason? I pregnant with a child that isn't his and I'm in love with Troy." Gabriella wept bitterly.

"Stop it. Gabriella look at me." Slowly, Gabriella raised her head to stare into Sharpay's fiery eyes. "Gabby, I'm not sure about Troy, but I know Ryan would never kill a child. Never."

"Well I can't take any chances. That's why I'm running away. I came to say good bye."

"Gabby, that's ridiculous!" Sharpay exclaimed.

"Trust me Sharpay. If Ryan finds out I'm pregnant, it'll only take him a few days to find out that Troy's the father. He'll kill him on the spot." Gabriella got a determent look in her eyes.

Sharpay sighed and started to cry herself. "Fine. I'll miss you though. And Ryan will come looking for you. You know that right?"

"I know. But he won't find me." Gabriella's voice trembled. Both girls stood up and hugged.

"Just keep yourself safe." Sharpay murmured.

* * *

**Please Review**


	10. AN

**AN:**

**Hello! Sorry it's taken me so long to update! I was just wondering: Should I make Gabriella run away or should I make someone catch her before she does? I know what I want to happen next I am just not sure what to do about her running away. Could you peoples please tell me what you think? Thanx.**


	11. Tell Me What Happened

"**Learn To Accept Fate"**

**10. Tell Me What Happened**

The sun was just rising, spilling rays of light over the mountains. Birds came fluttering out of the trees; twittering and cheeping loudly, searching for breakfast.

Gabriella had just thrown up for the second time that morning. Her whole body ached and she was sure she had never been so cold in her life.

This morning marked the fifth day since she had ran away. It seemed so long ago.

Her gaze swept around the abandoned barn that was now her home. Tears started to form in her eyes and spilled down her cheeks. She quickly reminded herself that she was doing this so Troy could live. Still, she wished she was back at the castle. Her mind started to wander into a day dream that she was often thinking of.

_It was midnight; the stars were glowing brightly against the darkness of the night. Crickets chirped noisily, breaking the silence. The water rippled across the water and the garden seemed the only peaceful place in the whole castle. _

_They lay quietly on the ground. Her head lay on Troy's chest. Her breathing was slow and deep, her eyes were closed and she was listening closely to the beating of his heart. _

_Troy was staring up at the shimmering sky. He tenderly stroked her hair as his other arm hugged her close. _

_Everything was perfect. Nothing could change it…_

Gabriella screamed as someone banged forcefully on the door to the barn

* * *

_5 days earlier_

Troy sat at the desk in the temporary study that had been given to him. He was subconsciously tapping his foot on the wooden floors, making a clink sound echo of the walls.

He was about to bury his head back into the mounds of paperwork that were scattered across the desk when he heard raised voices coming from just outside the room. Curious, Troy slipped out of his chair and cautiously made his way towards the door.

He creaked the door open a fraction and peered out through the tiny gap. Ryan and Sharpay were standing anxiously in the hall, both their expressions seemed strained. They were talking in hushed tones now, as if they had realized that someone was listening. Troy gently pushed the door open a little bit more and strained to hear what they were saying. It seemed important.

"What do you mean you don't know?" Ryan hissed angrily.

"I don't know where she is. I swear. I just woke up this morning and she wasn't there." Sharpay squeaked, edging away from Ryan.

Troy was confused. Did they mean Gabriella? He kept listening, eager to find out what they were talking about.

"Well then," Ryan growled, "What do you think happened? She just disappeared?" When Sharpay didn't answer Ryan shoved her aside and stomped down the hall, muttering something Troy could not quite catch.

Sharpay just stood there, as if she was a second behind the conversation and needed to catch up. As she went to trudge down the hall, Troy grabbed her arm and pulled her into the room, clicking the door shut behind him.

"What the..." Sharpay started to say when Troy interrupted.

"Sit." He commanded, pointing at a chair at the desk. Sharpay obeyed, sliding into the chair. Troy went to the opposite side of the desk and sat down. He put his feet up on the desk and put his hands in his lap. Sharpay seemed quite uncomfortable about being in the study, like she knew what he was going to ask.

_She probably does. _Troy reasoned.

"So," Troy locked his gaze onto Sharpay's, making her squirm in her chair. "What where you and Ryan discussing out there?"

"You weren't supposed to be listening to that!" Sharpay retorted shrilly.

"Well, I did. So you might as well tell me. It has something to do with Gabriella doesn't it?"

Sharpay bit her bottom lip and nodded. Troy was silent and waited for her to go on.

"Gabriella ran away."

Troy's expression stayed the same but he took his feet off the desk and leaned forward with his chin resting on his hands. He didn't need to ask why. He thought he knew. Little did he know that why she ran away was not what he thought at all. "You lied to Ryan though, didn't you? You told him you woke up and she was gone, but that's not what happened was it?"

Sharpay hesitated for a second, "She told me last night."

Troy nodded slowly then looked away. "You can go then. Thanks."

Sharpay muttered a goodbye and went out

* * *

_Present Time_

Once again Troy was sitting at his desk. He liked it there. It gave him time to think.

He was in a bleak mood. Five days had passed and Gabriella still had not been found. He was torn between emotions: He didn't want Ryan to find her, because who knows what he would do, but Troy wanted someone to find her, not liking the idea of her out there by herself.

Thats when he heard the voices. Voices shouting outside the room. Just like when he had found out she had ran away.

This time he didn't care to be careful, he didn't care if he wasn't supposed to listen to what was happening.

He threw open his door and gasped at what he saw.

It was Gabriella. She was being dragged down the hall by two guards. She didn't seem to be struggling to get free. Troy pulled his door so it was just open as they went past. Thats when he saw Sharpay behind them. Looking anxious. So he did what he had done five days ago. He grabbed her arm and swiftly pulled her into the room. This time she didn't seem as surprised.

"I'm guessing you want to know what happened?" Sharpay asked bitterly.

Troy nodded and they both sat down as Sharpay started to explain

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**Please Review **


	12. Trapped

**Sorry it took so long to update, here is the next chapter**

"**Learn To Accept Fate"**

**12. Trapped**

Gabriella shivered as icy cold wind blew into the room through th open window. She thought about getting up and closing. But decided she couldn't be bothered.

"_Actually i should"_She thought bitterly _"its one of the only things i am allowed to do in this place"  
_She stood up and went to th window, but instead of closing it she looked out of it. Guards surrounded the castle, positioned everywhere. After her escape Ryan wasn't going to take any chances. The only freedom Gabriella had was in her room and on her balcony. No one was permitted to see her and even though there less guards at night, there were still enough to catch her if she tried to sneak out to see Troy.

Actually the people allowed to see her were Ryan and Sharpay. Food was brought to her by Sharpay, which was the only way Sharpay managed to see her. Everyone knew Gabriella had run away, and rumors were murmured around the castle but only Troy, Sharpay and Taylor knew the real reason. Well Troy and Taylor thought they knew, while really only Sharpay knew the truth.

Slowly Gabriella heard the door creak open. She turned around and smiled sadly as Sharpay entered the room. Sharpay smiled back and lay down the tray she was carrying on a side table. Gabriella glanced at the food on the tray. She decided it didn't look edible and went back to staring out the window. The sky looked gray and dull as rain dropped to the ground. Gabriella shut the window so rain couldn't come inside.

The sun set behind the stone walls. Guards who had finished their day shift became to shuffle inside. About five or six guards came out to replace them. Gabriella remembered when no guards had been outside at night and her and her and Troy had been able to roam around the grounds freely. Gabriella turned around back to Sharpay.

"There's something I need to tell you."

Sharpay paled. "Please, not another escape."

"No." Gabriella said simply. Sharpay narrowed her eyes.

"What then?"

"You're not going to like it."

"I have learned to accept whatever you say. But why can't you just accept what's happening. Accept your fate." Sharpay said. Gabriella turned away. "Because I don't want to. I want to make my own fate." "Your father always did say you'd get yourself into trouble because of that." Sharpay told her. Gabriella sat down on the bed and looked Sharpay straight in the eye. "I have decided. I am going to kill myself." Sharpay stared at Gabriella for a moment, before stumbling back onto a chair, turning white. She mumbled a few garbled words. Gabriella took a deep breath, "Look, just listen okay? I." "No, just shut up!" Sharpay shouted shrilly, suddenly getting her voice back. "Just shut up! What are you thinking! But I don't think your actually thinking about anyone else but yourself anymore. Okay, I know you hate it here, but just think about other people for a change! Like me, for instance, or Troy. And what about your baby? Do you know that if you kill yourself, you'll kill it to?" Sharpay was standing now, tears starting to form in her eyes. Gabriella couldn't look at her. 

"I have been thinking about this for a long time Sharpay, will you just listen to me!" Gabriella said exasperated.

"No, I am sick and tired of listening to you and accepting what you say. I was sent with you to take care of you and I am not going to let you do this, understand?" Sharpay declared.

"You came with me because I wanted you to, not because you were told to. And I am thinking about other people. What happens when Ryan finds out I'm pregnant? I can't exactly hide that. No matter what you say I know that he will kill Troy and the baby. Then what? I'll kill myself anyway." Gabriella told Sharpay.

"What do you mean?"

"If I kill myself now, yes the baby will die to but Troy won't. He'll live. One of us will."

"How do you know that Troy won't kill himself when he finds out your dead?" Sharpay asked.

"I will just have to believe he won't." Gabriella's voice started to tremble.

"You know what fine. You can do what you want, as long as you tell Troy that you're pregnant and that you're going to kill yourself." Sharpay demanded. Gabriella looked at her hopelessly. Sharpay smiled grimly.

"Can't do it can you? You can't tell Troy you're going to kill his child because you can't stand being here."

Sharpay strode out of the room. Gabriella slumped on the floor and started to sob.


	13. Explanations

**Learn to Accept Fate**

**12. Explanations**

**Sorry it's taken so long to update. I've just been very busy. Lol. **

**Thanks for all the reviews! **

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After about ten minutes, Gabriella's sobbing had subsided into small hiccups. She didn't care what Sharpay said. It was her decision she told herself sternly. She turned her head to the side and stared at a long, silver box resting next to the tray of food.

Shakily, Gabriella stood up and grasped the box in both hands. She sat down on her bed and put the box down next to her. Slowly she opened it. The lid creaked, as if it hadn't been open for some time.

With trembling hands, Gabriella took out the knife resting inside.

The little moonlight, forcing its way through the heavy grey clouds, made puddles of light on the shiny wooden floor. The puddles seemed to dance slowly around as the clouds moved over the moon and one stream of light caught the blade of the knife, causing it to gleam.

Gabriella turned her head towards the balcony doors then to the small windows on either side. She listened to the loud drumming of the rain pounding on the castle walls and saw as it splattered on the windows. It was getting heavier.

_It's now or never _Gabriella thought bitterly. She didn't want to waste a second; for Sharpay was most likely going to tell Troy, and she didn't want him involved with this.

With wobbly legs Gabriella went towards the balcony doors. With each step her body trembled more intensely and it seemed to take an eternity to reach the doors.

When she got there she only needed to open the doors slightly, the wind did the rest. It flung the doors out violently, letting the billowing wind blast into the room, almost knocking Gabriella off her feet. The storm was getting stronger.

Gripping the knife tightly, Gabriella pushed her way through the swirling and swelling storm and onto the balcony. Plump raindrops plummeted on top of her and she was drenched instantly. She shivered as the coldness gnawed at her body.

The rushing wind forced Gabriella to squint, but even though there was a storm on, Gabriella wouldn't of wanted to be anywhere but outside. It seemed to have less confinement then inside the castle.

She stepped towards the balcony edge, so she could have a better look out. A smile played at her lips as she saw two of the younger guards struggling to stand up in the storm. The wind humorously tugged at their uniforms and swept away their hats, much to the guard's annoyance, as they had to go fetch them back. She liked the thought of smiling; she didn't want her last moment to be unhappy.

But her little happiness was squashed at the thought that Troy could not be there with her. She brushed the thought away immediately. She had made a decision to do this on her own. No matter what.

"No matter what." Gabriella said determinately, even though her voice was shaking slightly. If it was from the storm or fear she did not know. She didn't what to think about it. She just wanted to get it over and done with.

Taking a deep breath, Gabriella raised the knife to her chest. The coldness she had felt from the rain seemed to melt away.

"Gabriella!" A voice pierced through the roaring of the storm. Gabriella whirled around to see Troy, running towards her. She winced, knowing that she should have closed the doors behind her.

"What?" She snapped when he was close enough so he could hear her. Troy wrenched the knife away from her, staring in disbelief.

"What are you doing?!" He cried.

"Why did you come?!" Gabriella hissed, casting him an angry glare.

"Excuse me! I found Sharpay in the hall crying and I asked what was wrong. She started babbling on about something to do with you. I thought I had better check on you. Glad I did! What exactly were you planning to do?" Troy shouted. They did not need to worry about being caught; the storm would stop anyone from hearing them.

"You won't understand!" Gabriella couldn't tell if it was raindrops or tears that ran down her face.

"Oh try me. I have been supportive of you this whole time and now you go and do this. Do you not think this is going a bit far?!" Troy bellowed.

"You have no idea, you don't know anything!" Gabriella screeched.

By now every guard had gone inside, not wanting to be outside in the rain. They all knew leaving their post was a dangerous thing to do; they just reasoned that nothing would happen in the storm. It was just Gabriella and Troy outside, no sound but the howling wind and pounding rain.

Troy stood there with his hair plastered to his forehead and gripped Gabriella's shoulders hard, knife in hand. He stared at her with an icy and confused expression. This was what scared Gabriella; there was only a flicker of concern in his eyes, the rest was anger and puzzlement. It sent chills down her spine.

Her body started to shiver from the cold and from fear.

She started cry and she couldn't tell what was tears or what was rain, while Troy waited or an answer.

A pang of guilt swept through Gabriella, so forceful that she would have dropped to her knees if Troy had not been holding her shoulders. She realised that Sharpay was right; there was no way she could go through with this. Especially now that Troy was there; wanting an explanation.

Gabriella tried to explain but the words died at her lips. She knew she had to tell him she just couldn't.

"Gabby," Troy said so quietly that Gabriella had to read his lips to understand what he was saying. "Gabby," he repeated, his voice rising so he could be heard above the storm. "I'll give you one last chance. I could easily go and ask Sharpay what's happening, but I thought I would give you a chance to explain."

Gabriella waited for him to continue, he didn't She had to tell him now, or he'd go and ask Sharpay, and she'd tell him for sure. Besides, Gabriella wanted Troy to hear it from her.

She took a deep breath. _Remember, he loves you. _She told herself.

"I'm pregnant." She whispered, her voice trembling.

Troy dropped his hands from her shoulders and stumbled back in shock.

"What?" He stuttered. Gabriella turned away. She could bear to see his face. But soon she found herself looking at him, his expression unreadable.

"And you were just going to kill the baby to save yourself." Troy exploded, making Gabriella wince.

"I would never," She whimpered.

"I know you would never kill the baby by itself, but by killing yourself, well, you'd have to kill it to. One little sacrifices so that _you_ don't have to suffer. I mean, how long have you known and not told me? Of course, that's why you ran away, wasn't it? All makes sense now. You didn't even talk to me about it. You just went and did it anyway. Just like this."

"You don't understand," Gabriella sobbed.

"Of course I don't understand. I mean…"

"No you don't!" Gabriella cried, cutting Troy off. "You won't even listen to me. You keep saying you will but you never let me explain properly!"

Troy gasped as Gabriella wrenched the knife out of his hand.

"Gabby, no…NO!" Troy screamed and lunged at her. They wrestled over the knife until Gabriella managed to kick Troy in the gut, sending him sprawling o the ground. All he could do was watch helplessly as Gabriella went to plunge the knife into her heart. He could see blood start trickle down her chest and onto her dress. He couldn't take it. He leapt up and snatched the knife out of Gabriella's hands.

But they both froze when they heard footsteps. Loud, pounding fast footsteps. They heard yelling and both could tell exactly where the footsteps were headed. Onto the balcony.

"Freeze, both of you!" A voice commanded and Troy and Gabriella spun around to see Ryan and about a dozen guards standing in the room. Ryan took one look at the blood on Gabriella and the knife in Troy's hand before narrowing his eyes and yelling, "Seize him."

There was much commotion. The guards grabbed Troy and started to haul him away, much to Gabriella's dismay. He kept screaming her name and trying to wrestle out of the guards grip.

"Troy! Let him go! Troy!" Gabriella protested. Ryan grabbed her by the arm and started leading her out of the room. She struggled but he kept his grip tight.

_Troy._

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	14. Happiness Follows Tragedy

**Sorry for the wait. This is my longest chapter yet. So enjoy and thanks for the reviews. **

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"I will not allow this!" Taylor screeched; her eyes full of hatred and anger.

"I have every right to do this. It's my kingdom, my rules." Ryan said curtly.

"That has nothing to do with it!" Taylor spluttered.

Early that morning, Taylor had stormed into Ryan's study chambers, demanding to know why Troy was down in the dungeons. Ryan had told her that last night he had found Troy and Gabriella on Gabriella's balcony. Gabriella was bleeding from a wound in her chest and Troy was holding the knife that must have been the weapon used.

Taylor had scoffed. She had said that she didn't believe for a second that Troy would ever harm anyone. Ryan had said that he didn't care what Taylor believed; Troy was responsible for what happened. And Ryan was going to make him hang for it.

Taylor had protested immediately, saying Ryan was acting much too dramatically. But Ryan wouldn't hear any of it.

"You wait till King Jack hears about this." Taylor threatened, "It will be your head that will roll."

She stomped out of the room.

* * *

Outraged and apprehensive, Taylor made her way down the winding stairs to the dungeons. They were dank and grimy. Polluted water dripped down from the ceiling. Rats and beetles scuttled and scampered around on the grubby floor. There were no windows; the only light were a few flickering torches, hanging on the walls. 

Taylor walked slowly; she didn't want to attract the guard's attention. She wasn't exactly allowed to be down in the dungeons; one of Ryan's daft rules. And anyway, what she was doing down there wasn't exactly lawful either.

She was going to break Troy out.

Not forever. Just long enough for him to see Gabriella. Taylor had heard that Gabriella was asking for Troy, but of course Ryan didn't care.

The only problem was that Taylor had no idea _how _to break Troy out.

Well, she did have a few rough ideas. Just before, Taylor had confronted Kelsi and Chad, asking if they knew any ways to help break out Troy. She had told them to not worry about why and that all she needed was ideas. Kelsi didn't know anything but Chad told her that the jail guard sometimes fell asleep on duty and that she might get lucky. He also said that Ryan didn't know about this, for if he did the guard would have been fired immediately.

Taylor asked Chad how he knew and Chad had shrugged and told her that he heard it from someone else, so it might not be true.

Taylor would have asked Sharpay about all of this, but she was nowhere to be found, much to Taylor's annoyance.

So, here she was, desperately trying not to get caught.

_Please be asleep. Please. _Taylor begged silently. She gingerly poked her head around the corner to where the guard normally sat.

She breathed a sigh of relief. He was asleep. What Chad had said was true.

Slowly, she tiptoed over to the hook where the key hung. Fortunately, the guard only snored louder when Taylor took the key off the hook.

Now she just needed to find Troy's cell.

_That shouldn't be _too _hard _Taylor reasoned. The dungeon wasn't that big cell-wise. It had only a few huge cells scattered around the place.

She also needed to find out how to get to troy's cell without some other prisoner seeing her. Any of them could tell Ryan she had been down there.

Luckily, Taylor didn't need to look far. Troy had been put in a cell close to the guard's station. And he was alone.

Troy was sitting on a dirty bench, staring down into his hands.

"Troy." Taylor hissed through the bars. Troy glanced up startled.

"Taylor?" He said sceptically, and rather loudly. "What are you doing here?"

Taylor put a finger to her lips. "Talk quietly. I don't want to wake up the guard. I'm not really supposed to be down here."

"Sorry. How's Gabriella?" Troy asked worriedly. Of course Taylor had known that would be his first question.

"Ask her yourself."

"Huh?"

"I'm breaking you out temporarily." Taylor explained, slipping the key into the lock and turning it with a satisfying click.

"What? You can't do that. What if you get caught?" Troy whispered.

"Well, maybe if you hurry up and go I won't." Taylor retorted.

Troy stood there, still perplexed.

"Hurry up," Taylor repeated anxiously. Troy hurried out of the cell and Taylor closed the door behind him but didn't lock it.

"How long has I been since the guard did his last round?" Taylor asked hastily. Troy looked confused. Taylor sighed.

"How long has it been since the guard came round checking the cells?"

"Oh. Only a few minutes." Troy replied.

"Okay. Well, in that case you have about two hours till the guard does his rounds. If I were you I'd come back quite a bit before that though. So, quickly go." Taylor told Troy.

Troy gave her a grateful smile and carefully went up the snaking stairs with Taylor following closely behind.

* * *

Gabriella cried silent tears that dropped on her pillow. It was all her fault, she knew it. Her fault that Troy was going to die. And it pained her more that she couldn't do anything about it. 

But surely Troy's father wouldn't let this happen? The thought gave Gabriella only slight comfort.

"Gabriella?" A voice whispered. Gabriella gave a startled squeal.

"Gabriella, it's okay. It's me." Gabriella's eyes widened as Troy opened the door quietly and slipped into her room. He carefully closed it, making sure it didn't make even the slightest sound.

"Troy? What…how did you get here?" Gabriella stammered.

"Taylor helped me out. But I can't stay long. I have to go back. I just wanted to see how you were." Troy explained, sitting on the edge of Gabriella's bed. She leaned forward and embraced him.

"What if you get caught?" Gabriella suddenly pulled away, her eyes wide.

"I won't get caught." Troy promised. "But as I said. I don't have long so…"

That's when they heard footsteps. Just like on the balcony.

"Quick, hide!" Gabriella exclaimed; her heart filling with dread as it pounded fearfully in her chest.

As quick as thinking, Troy dived under the bed. Gabriella didn't have time to make sure he was safely under before the door swung open and Ryan sauntered in.

"Hello Gabriella." He said coolly. Gabriella just nodded in response.

"How are you feeling?" Ryan asked.

Gabriella narrowed her eyes suspiciously. Ryan was either being polite or stalling for time. Gabriella was very afraid that it was the latter.

Her unspoken question was answered before she could say anything. Zeke came scuttling in through the open door, an evil glint in his eyes.

He took Ryan just outside the door and started whispering eagerly. Ryan nodded his head every now and then, his face blank while Zeke's was glowing with excitement.

Gabriella swallowed a lump that had formed in her throat. She wished Troy could come out and comfort her.

_But what if that was it? _She thought uneasily. _What if Zeke had found out that Troy was missing from the dungeon? _Gabriella couldn't bear to think about it.

"I assume you have heard about Troy?" Ryan questioned.

"You have nothing against him. I tried to kill myself; Troy just came to stop me." Gabriella justified.

"If what you say is true, in order to try and stop you, Troy must have known you were going to commit this act." Ryan said, leering at Gabriella.

Gabriella wasn't sure if this was a question or a statement. She didn't speak. Ryan kept silent to. He just stayed staring Gabriella in the eyes until she could take it no longer.

"He saw me." She finally answered. "I told Sharpay and Troy found her crying in the hall. He asked her what was wrong. She said something about me and Troy thought he better check."

This wasn't a lie. Ryan couldn't pin her on that.

"You're sure nothing else?" Ryan asked, with a grin that sent chills down Gabriella's spine. She watched in horror as Sharpay was dragged into the room, shaking and sobbing.

"I'm so sorry Gabriella, they tortured me. I couldn't…"

"It's okay Sharpay." Gabriella said quietly. She wondered how Troy felt, stuck under the bed, hardly daring to breathe.

"So," Ryan said, "You seem to have kept quite a lot from me. Well, no matter. This just means that not only will Troy die, you will too."

"What, you can't do that!" Gabriella shrieked.

"I wouldn't be saying anything. You committed treason."

"I did not."

"You betrayed me. You betrayed my kingdom. Treason. Of course I will not make this public. Your death will be secret. After we are married, I will simply kill you, make it look like suicide." Ryan made it out as if it was nothing. Gabriella fumed inside.

"I won't go through with the marriage. You can kill me, I don't care. But I will never let you get control over my country."

"Oh, and who's going to stop me? You're not going to say anything about this. Otherwise, Sharpay may meet an unfortunate end as well." Ryan said with a sickening smile.

"How can you do this?! You're sick. Sick and evil. You'll never win." Gabriella raged. Ryan just laughed.

"Leave Sharpay here. Let her say goodbye." Ryan strolled out of the room, accompanied by the guards. The door slammed behind them.

"I'm so sorry." Sharpay cried, hugging Gabriella tightly. "I didn't tell him everything. He doesn't know that Taylor knows." Sharpay gave a little scream as Troy wiggled out from under the bed.

"Troy, but how did you…"

"Get out? Taylor helped me." Troy said simply.

"You've been under there the whole time?" Sharpay asked incredulously. Troy nodded solemnly.

Suddenly, Gabriella burst out in tears, her body shaking with sobs.

"It's my fault," She wailed over and over again. Troy and Sharpay reacted immediately.

Troy sat down on the bed, and wrapped his arms around Gabriella's waist. He pulled her close, kissed the top of her forehead and let her cry into his shoulder.

Sharpay walked around to the other side of the bed and knelt upon it. She started stroking Gabriella's hair with her hand.

After a few minutes, Gabriella looked up and sniffed; her brown eyes blurry with tears.

"I am so sorry."

"These things happen okay? Ryan would have found out about us eventually anyway." Troy told her sternly. Gabriella didn't say anything.

"It's going to be okay, we'll make sure of it." Sharpay said softly, trying to keep her voice confident for Gabriella's sake.

"No Sharpay, there's no way out this time." Gabriella said bitterly, "This is what the old lady in the village meant. This is what she was trying to warn me about."

Sharpay started in dismay at her friend. She couldn't believe it. Gabriella had given up hope.

Troy didn't seem to like it either. He gripped Gabriella's shoulders gently and turned her until he was gazing directly into her teary eyes.

"If you are in times of tragedy, just remember; the happiness that follows will be the greatest happiness of all." Troy recited. "My Dad always says that to me."

Gabriella smiled.

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	15. Darkness and Threats

**Hi! Sorry it has taken me so long to update! Enjoy! 

* * *

"Learn To Accept Fate"

**

**Chapter**** 15: Darkness and Threats **

Gabriella stared vacantly into the mirror, her expression miserable. Her hands shook as she reached down to pick up her crown from the desk. It was elegant, almost weightless. She ran her fingers over the delicate golden leaves woven into crown.

It was the day Gabriella had been dreading for; her wedding day. It was custom for the Prince or Princess whose kingdom had sheltered the others for the past six months got married first. Precisely on the last day of the six months.

But today not only was there going to be a wedding. Afterwards, Gabriella got to watch the man she loved get hung because of treason. Treason she had helped him commit.

_It doesn't matter,_ Gabriella thought. Darkness had completely gnawed away at her insides. Leaving her hollow and numb. _Nothing matters anymore. __Nothing._

She was going to die tonight. Just a few hours after Troy. And she wasn't going to fight. She was going to let it happen. But she still wasn't going to let Ryan kill her.

No.

By the time he would manage to find her, she would already be dead. She was going to kill herself before Ryan could. She had tried to do it before. She wasn't afraid. She didn't care anymore.

Gabriella placed her crown lightly on her head. She went to stand up but a rush of dizziness took her by surprise and she sank back into the chair. She glanced quickly at the tray of food on a table near her bed. For the past week or so she hadn't eaten very much. She'd been much too preoccupied with what was going to happen today to think about anything else. Today was the first time she had had the energy to get off her bed in weeks. She'd just lay under the blankets, feeling sorry for herself and being too depressed to move or eat or do anything at all.

Gabriella went to stand up again, gripping the chair for support. Ryan had ordered some men to lock her balcony doors. She couldn't go outside. So she went over to a window and leaned on the window sill with her arms, staring out into the castle grounds. She sighed heavily. Even the lovely small garden seemed gloomy and ominous now.

On the other side of the castle, outside in a large garden, people were bustling around arranging flowers, tables, chairs and many other things needed for the wedding. The people were cheerful, singing as they worked. But one person was not.

She was sitting against a wall, her expression serious and her insides fuming. She was waiting. Waiting for him to emerge from the castle so she could give him a piece of her mind.

Finally, after about 10 minutes, he appeared. He was alone. She took the opportunity and pounced.

"Ryan!" She barked sharply. Ryan swivelled around, but he didn't move to go over to her. So instead she stomped over to him. But before she could open her mouth to talk, Ryan cut her off.

"Taylor, I have no intention of listening to what you have to say."

"I don't care." Taylor growled. "Because you _are _going to listen whether you like it or not." Ryan didn't say anything, but he didn't move away either. Taylor continued.

"As I have said before, you cannot hang Troy…" Ryan interrupted.

"And as I have said before. It is my castle, so my rules."

"It is not _your _castle, it is your fathers. He makes the rules. And anyway do you think Troy's father will let you do this? That he isn't going to protest."

Ryan grinned. It was something Taylor hadn't expected him to do. "And have you heard anything from Troy's father?"

The question puzzled Taylor. "What do you mean?"

"Answer the question."

"Well, no." Taylor answered still confused.

At that moment Chad came out of the building.

"Excuse me, Prince Ryan. Did Troy say when he was coming back? His father wants to know."

Ryan turned to him.

"He did mention that it would be sometime today, whether it's before or after my wedding he didn't say." Ryan said coolly. Chad nodded and he walked away. The conversation had made Taylor even more bewildered. Then the realisation dawned upon her.

"No one knows, do they?" Ryan's grin grew wider across his face. This made Taylor outraged.

"Did you really think I would get away with it if anyone else knew?" Ryan said rhetorically. "Of course no one knows but you, Gabriella, Sharpay and Troy. Everyone knows that somethinghappened to Gabriella, but no one is connecting it to Troy. Everyone thinks that Troy has gone away on an errand, even the great King Jack believes it." Ryan snickered. "At the end of the wedding, Troy will hang, and nobody will be able to do anything about it."

Taylor's blood boiled. "I can't believe you think you're going to get away with this! As soon as King Jack sees that you're going to hang his son he will be outraged and you will be stopped."

"Then maybe I'll just have to post guards everywhere around him so he can't do anything."

Ryan started to walk away, but stopped and turned back towards Taylor.

"And if you think you're going to do anything to stop this, like tell my plans to everyone, you are very mistaken. I will be watching you and if you say even just a word to anyone, you'll wish that you never even knew in the first place."

Ryan strode off and leaving his threat lingering behind.


	16. The Final Day

"**Learn To Accept Fate"**

**16. The Final Day**

The sun beat down angrily on the occupants of the Town Square, as they whispered excitedly to one another. Eight, tall, exquisitely decorated carriages rolled smoothly through the town; richly dressed horses clopping along in front, ignoring the eager shouts of the children.

They left the dusty town and headed for the looming castle: their final destination. And they needed to hurry.

For, once they got there, the event would begin.

Gabriella's heart pounded painfully when she saw the carriages pull up outside her window. She gripped the window sill when she saw her parents emerge from a carriage and Ryan greeted them smoothly, to stop herself from collapsing. And when she saw him welcome Troy's parents just as effortlessly, Gabriella wanted to scream out to them, to tell them what was going to happen. But she knew that would not help the situation at all.

So feeling defeated, agonisingly so, Gabriella slumped down onto the floor and closed her eyes.

"I can't do it. I can't go out there and just act all normal." Gabriella panicked, "but I have to, otherwise you'll get hurt."

"Don't worry about me okay?" Sharpay soothed. "Taylor, Chad and Kelsi will think of something."

Gabriella just stared at the wall in silence and started trembling.

"You're going to have to get yourself together if you are going to pull off acting normal." Sharpay reminded her.

Gabriella nodded solemnly and focused on getting her body to stop shaking. She took a deep breath and steadied herself.

Just at that moment, six guards burst into the room, accompanied by Ryan. Gabriella was glad her emotions were under control. She didn't want Ryan to see she was scared. She just squared her jaw and glared defiantly at him.

Ryan simply smiled wickedly in response.

"Time to begin."

"Gabriella!"

Gabriella swallowed hard as her parents, smiles beaming across her faces, moved towards her with her little sister Susan, trailing along behind.

Gabriella managed a small smile

"Oh, I have missed you so much!" Her mother exclaimed, wrapping Gabriella in a tight hug.

"I have missed you too." Gabriella mumbled.

"Now, I know you weren't too thrilled about being here, but I'm glad you finally accepted it." Her father said proudly.

All Gabriella could do was nod. She didn't trust herself to speak. Her enthusiasm was too weak to force out a lie.

But her parents didn't seem to notice, they just smiled apologetically when someone called out to them and walked off.

Unfortunately, Susan had noticed her strange attitude.

"There's something wrong. I know there is. You're acting all strange." Susan stated.

"Nothing's wrong."



"You're miserable. I can tell. But there's something else." Susan said. Gabriella bit her lip. Susan was only ten years old but she noticed a lot. Gabriella couldn't deny that something else was bothering her, but she didn't have to say exactly what. "Listen, I…"

"Gabriella? You okay?"

Gabriella's voice had trailed off and she was staring out into the mass of people crowding the castle yard. Troy stood in the middle of the throng chatting causally with his parents, like the past months had been nothing but fine.

But the next moment Gabriella knew it was all an act, for Ryan approached Troy smoothly and told him something. Troy nodded curtly and Ryan shot Troy's parents an apologetic smile before carting Troy off.

Troy's expression burned with anger, but he held his head high as he marched across the yard. He turned his head to study the crowd when his eyes latched onto Gabriella's. He quickly fixed his gaze to the stone walls, afraid that if he stared into her eyes for a split second longer, the hollow sadness that filled them, he would lose it right then and there.

"Gabriella!" Susan snapped angrily, waving her hand in front of her sister's face.

"Sorry." Gabriella mumbled, blinking rapidly.

"There's something going on here," Susan repeated. Gabriella swallowed hard. There was defiantly something wrong. And in an hour, something horrible was going to happen.

"Hello and welcome!" Boomed the King of Madrica. All heads turned to look at him, standing up on a high platform with the rows and rows of seats facing him from all sides. Gabriella fidgeted in her seat inside the tent.

"It has been a long six months. But the time has finally come for—"

"GABRIELLA!" A voice roared.

Gabriella flinched at the sound and turned her frightened gaze to the tent opening.

"Ryan? What—"

"Gabriella! Gabriella! WHERE ARE YOU?!" Ryan screeched. Trying to be brave, Gabriella pulled back the tent flap and was greeted by Ryan's blazing glower.

"What's going on here?" Gabriella's father rose and yelled out into the crowd. Neither Ryan nor Gabriella answered. Both just stood metres apart. Motionless.

Finally Ryan spoke. "Where is he?" He hissed.

Gabriella wasn't going to act dumb and ask 'who?' There was no point, so she just squared her shoulders and asked, "What do you mean, where is he?"

"He's not in the dungeon. And you're telling me you have no idea where he is?" Ryan said mockingly, but his voice was thick and seething.

Gabriella's expression showed pure shock, but not enough to hide that she hadn't suspected something all along. Ryan grabbed Gabriella's hair and pulled her towards him. She cried out in pain.

"GET YOUR HANDS OFF MY DAUGHTER!" The King of Arimar roared. Ryan didn't let go of his grip on Gabriella's hair.

"She has something of mine." Ryan snarled. Then a thin smile crept over his lips. "Well, actually, _Troy_ stole something of mine."

"What do you mean?" King Jack asked quietly, standing to his feet. Ryan pushed Gabriella away and held her gaze.

"Would you like to tell them?"

Gabriella swallowed loudly. Obviously Taylor had figured out a plan. But Gabriella hadn't expected it to backfire on her.

"I thought not." Ryan sneered and turned towards the waiting audience. And in a fluent string of words the whole crowd knew the activities of the past month. Everything except that Gabriella was pregnant, which Ryan didn't know, and that he was going to kill her, which he 

wasn't going to share. Shocked murmurs ran through the crowd. Gabriella stared at the ground, not game enough to look into her father's eyes. Not game enough to see the agonising disappointment that would defiantly be present.

"And because of that—" Ryan concluded, with the hint of a smile "both Gabriella and Troy will be hanged for treason."

"NO!" Both Troy and Gabriella's parents' roared.

"They have broken the rules." Ryan said simply.

"And you haven't?" A cool, clear voice echoed into the courtyard. "Last time I checked, murder was defiantly against the rules."

"Troy." Ryan hissed, his gaze flickering about; trying to locate the voice.

"Ryan!" The King of Madrica said sharply.

"I haven't murdered anyone!" Ryan shouted out defensively.

"But I know for a fact that you are going to in the future." Troy answered smoothly, "I have witnesses."

"Why don't you show yourself?" Ryan snarled.

"I could. But where's the fun in that?"

"Show yourself or she dies." Ryan slid his sword from its sheath and rested the tip on Gabriella's throat. She froze in place, eyes wide and fearful.

A split second later Troy jumped down from a wall behind Ryan, sword drawn, pressed up against Ryan's back. Ryan smirked and whirled around, his sword clashing with Troy's.

"Why don't you just give up now?" Ryan sneered.

"And what? Hang instead? Sure." Troy said mockingly.

Ryan drew back his sword and Troy prepared to block his attack when Ryan suddenly whipped around to strike at Gabriella.

Gabriella screamed and covered her face with her arms in a pathetic attempt to protect herself. She heard a thud and felt no blade slice her flesh. She lowered her arms to see Ryan lying unconscious on the ground.

"Well I couldn't exactly kill him." Troy explained. He gripped Gabriella's arm and urged her to run as the crowd swarmed down into the courtyard.

Gabriella and Troy raced up some stairs leading to the top of the castle. Gabriella glanced down at the angry and frightened people and then back up at Troy. He was smiling grimly.

"And now the fun begins."


End file.
